


dental care

by elliewritesthings



Series: dentist au [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: (ahaha see what i did there?), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Boners, Fluff, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, dentist!levi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-25
Updated: 2014-08-25
Packaged: 2018-02-14 15:58:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2197896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elliewritesthings/pseuds/elliewritesthings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the back of the chair is lowered, Eren takes a few deep breaths. The more horizontal his position becomes, the more he begins to question his life choices – specifically the one to chew oodles of gum instead of actually brushing his teeth regularly, but also the one to not turn at his heels and walk away upon laying eyes on not-Dr. Smith, otherwise known as Dr. Ackerman. Though half of the man's face is now covered by a surgical mask, he still manages to appear fleetingly irritated as he stares down at Eren.</p><p>"In addition to sitting down, you'll also have to open your mouth, you know," he points out as he adjusts the overhead light. </p><p>(prompt: I want a fic where one of them is a dentist and the other has some cavities to be filled. I don't care with one is which, but I do prefer the dentist isn't sadistic (though that doesn't have to mean the appointment is pain-free). I want fluffy hurt/comfort kind of stuff.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It's been a week now and Eren is still in excruciating pain.

He's hanging off the edge of the couch with his head upside down and a heat pack pressed against his cheek as he bemoans this fact to Armin. Despite of the constant ache that feels like its burrowing through his molars, he can still manage to complain.

"Does that position actually do anything?" Armin wonders as he peeks over the screen of his laptop. He's seated by the kitchen table and working on an essay, if the papers and textbooks scattered around him are of any indication.

"Some guy on Yahoo Answers said it was supposed to help," Eren replies. As he speaks, his tongue grazes against his hurting tooth and he flinches at the contact. "But I don't really think so. I've been lying here for almost an hour."

"You know what _would_ help?" Armin goes on, but Eren can't hear him due to the fact that he's shoved his fingers in his ears. Even so, he still knows what Armin is saying as he recognizes him mouthing the word 'dentist'. Before he has the chance to disagree loudly, Jean strolls in. Eren sees his worn sneakers as he makes his way across the floor to the fridge.

"How was the exam?" Armin asks, to which Jean responds by letting out a long groan.

"Oh my God, let's not even talk about it," he says. Eren hears him shuffle around a bit, but soon he plops down on the other end of the couch with a tub of Ben&Jerry's, sending Eren a pitying glance.

"Dude, you still haven't gotten that checked?"

With great effort, Eren raises his head to glare back. "What do you think?"

Jean cracks open the lid and digs in. "Just get to a dentist already," he says. "It's not that bad."

_It is, though,_ Eren wants to reply, but instead he squeezes his lips into a thin line. The pain is always there, near the back of his mouth, but eating and talking often make it even worse. He's spent countless hours in front of the mirror with his mouth wide open, staring at the tooth that's giving him so much trouble. It's on the bottom row, second one from the back, and if Eren squints and tilts his head the right way, he can see a definite cavity.

He's had cavities before as a kid, of course, but he doesn't remember any of them hurting this much. Maybe he's growing soft and weak with age, he thinks as he clambers up. The upside down position has done nothing but make him feel dizzy.

Jean nudges his foot with his own. "Hey, cheer up, Eren. You want some ice cream?" he offers, a mocking grin on his face. "Oh, wait, you can't."

He flips Jean off, sagging against the pillows as he watches him spoon more ice cream into his cavity-free mouth. "I don't like dentists."

"No-one does," Armin chimes in from behind his laptop. "You just gotta suck it up. It's only one appointment and then you can go back to neglecting your dental hygiene."

"What are you, the tooth police?" Eren mutters. His sore tooth is probably listening in on their conversation as a particularly sharp throb of pain from the back of his mouth makes him wince.

Armin shrugs. "You know I'm right," he says in a sing-song voice, and Eren does know this. Armin's an all-around great friend and an ideal roommate, except for the fact that he tends to be right about pretty much everything.

"I can come and hold your hand if you're too scared," Jean gurgles through his mouthful of ice cream. There's a speck of chocolate at the corner of his mouth and Eren feels tempted to punch it off.

"I'm not scared, dickbag," he snaps.

"Then go to the dentist, assbasket," Jean retorts with a wave of his spoon.

Eren grips on to the heat bag so hard that his knuckles are going white and quips, "Maybe I will."

It's not as simple as it sounds, though. Eren would never admit it, especially not in front of Jean, but he may be just a tiny bit scared.

He still remembers when he was ten and had to visit Dr. Shadis who always smelled like fish and poked at his gums so much that they'd bleed afterwards. During one memorable appointment when the good doctor had whipped out a particularly large and loud drill, Eren had panicked and chomped down on his fingers when he'd tried to shove the thing in his mouth.

When he finally caves in and calls for an appointment, he specifically informs the receptionist that he does not like dentists. "It's very good of you to mention that," she chirps. "We'll book you with Dr. Smith, he's very good with nervous patients."

This information doesn't make Eren dread the appointment any less. Luckily it's on a day when he has no classes to attend or anything else scheduled, because he spends all morning going back and forth between the mirror and his phone, hoping that the cavity will magically disappear and he'll be able to cancel.

Spoiler alert: it doesn't.

As a result, he finds himself sitting in the waiting room fifteen minutes early, fingers tapping an uneven rhythm against the surface of the hard plastic chair. There's an older woman sitting on the opposite wall and reading a magazine, along with a teary-eyed young girl and her mother who's desperately trying to cheer her up.

"But I don't want to! It hurts!" the girl wails, and Eren thinks _'same'_. The mother leads her to the children's corner and gives her a bright red toy car to play with, shushing her gently. It works, and as she straightens up, she locks eyes with Eren for just a few seconds and gives an apologetic smile. He can only manage a slight quirk of his lips in response.

The girl and her mother are called in after only a couple of minutes. Soon the older woman's name is also called and Eren is left alone in the waiting room. There's a stack of magazines on the table next to him, and he grabs one and opens it at random. The article he's stumbled on details the different ways to deal with menopause, but it doesn't matter – Eren's eyes skim over row after row, not a single word sticking to his memory. All he can focus on is the muted sound of a drill coming from one of the rooms down the hallway.

The sound of a door clicking open has Eren on the edge of his seat, and what follows makes him want to crawl under it. "Jaeger," a voice intones from the hallway, but to Eren the sound is equivalent to the gates of hell opening up and beckoning him inside. He takes in a deep breath as he stands up, holding it in and counting each step he takes towards his inevitable doom.

His dentist seems unaware of Eren's discomfort as he gestures him to enter. He probably says something to Eren, too, but it all goes in through one ear and out the other. Luckily this time there's no lingering smell of fish, he thinks as he glances down at Dr. Smith's name tag, only to discover that it reads an entirely different name.

"You're not Dr. Smith," he blurts out.

The not-Dr. Smith raises a groomed eyebrow at that, as if to congratulate him on his observational skills. "Yes, I'm aware," he says, giving the name tag a little tap. When Eren reads it again, he sees that his dentist for the day is called Dr. Ackerman. "He called in sick this morning, so I'm picking up the slack."

He moves to the side board to grab a pair of disposable gloves, still oblivious to the fact that Eren is practically vibrating with nervous energy. "Have a seat and we'll begin in a moment."

As Dr. Ackerman continues his preparations, Eren has plenty of time to come up with a dozen different scenarios of how this could all go horribly wrong as his eyes dart across the room, looking for possible escape routes. There's a window on the opposite wall along with hideous yellow curtains, and he debates smashing through it before he remembers that they're on the fifth floor. The door behind him is still unlocked, so he could bolt out any minute, and he almost goes for it, except that Dr. Ackerman takes that specific moment to turn around again.

"Well?" he asks when he sees Eren still standing at the same spot.

"You want me to, uh," Eren gives a vague nod towards the one piece of furniture he's avoided looking at ever since he stepped over the threshold, "sit down here?"

It's difficult to say what Dr. Ackerman thinks of his hesitation as his expression seems to be set in a permanent scowl. "That's sort of how this goes, yeah," he replies. "If you have a better idea, please do share."

Though his voice is dripping with sarcasm, Eren is tempted to suggest an alternative solution anyway: _how about I just turn around and never come back?_ He inches towards the dentist chair on the middle of the floor very slowly. "I'm sitting down," he announces, both to Dr. Ackerman and to his own brain that becomes clouded with all sorts of impulses at the mere sight of The Chair.

It's just a chair, and realistically, he knows that a simple chair cannot do him any harm. Still, its imposing stature and the clammy surface he feels beneath his fingertips as he reaches out to touch its armrest make him feel like it warrants capital letters anyway.

"You sure aren't in any hurry, are you." Dr. Ackerman has returned to preparing the equipment, and even though his back is turned, Eren can imagine the statement accompanied by an eye roll. While Eren finally plants his ass down on the chair, shivering as the bare skin of his arms comes in contact with the upholstery, Dr. Ackerman snaps his gloves on and moves to hand him a pair of protective glasses.

Eren finds this almost relieving – at least the glasses will cover the look of unashamed panic that will no doubt show in his eyes.

As the back of the chair is lowered, Eren takes a few deep breaths. The more horizontal his position becomes, the more he begins to question his life choices – specifically the one to chew oodles of gum instead of actually brushing his teeth regularly, but also the one to not turn on his heels and walk away upon laying eyes on not-Dr. Smith, otherwise known as Dr. Ackerman. Though half of the man's face is now covered by a surgical mask, he still manages to appear fleetingly irritated as he stares down at Eren.

"In addition to sitting down, you'll also have to open your mouth, you know," he points out as he adjusts the overhead light. Eren hadn't even noticed that he'd clamped his mouth shut. He relaxes his jaw, or at least tries to, and swallows down his anxiety before opening his mouth.

It feels weird having someone else probe around in his mouth, but Eren can at least congratulate himself on the fact that he doesn't immediately throw up when Dr. Ackerman begins running the probe across his teeth. The sensation resembles tickling, at least until the probe catches at the sore teeth in the bottom row. He jerks and makes a small sound at the back of his throat, which prompts Dr. Ackerman to place a firm hand by his shoulder to keep him in place.

"You have a few cavities here," he declares.

_A few,_ Eren wants to call out, but due to the tool in his mouth, it comes across as a half-intelligible gargle.

"This one," Dr. Ackerman goes on, and Eren feels him give a gentle nudge at the tooth in front of the sore one, "is very small and still developing. I can fill it in right now after I get rid of the tartar on your upper molars – which you also have, by the way. But this one here," now he nudges the sore tooth and Eren flinches again, feeling the warm pressure against his shoulder increase, "will need a second appointment."

Those two words echo in Eren's head as he stares up at the ceiling and vows to never skip brushing again.

Dr. Ackerman has to remove his hand from Eren's shoulder as he begins scraping off the hardened plaque from his upper teeth, using both a mirror and a probe. Somehow Eren misses that small source of comfort as he tries to tune out the sounds of metal grinding against teeth. The procedure itself isn't painful, but the sounds and the sensation of something being rasped off are enough to irk him. To pass the time, he takes a couple of minutes examining the few imperfections in the ceiling. There's not many, though, so instead he moves on to staring at Dr. Ackerman's face, as it's the only remotely interesting thing in his line of sight.

Even as he works, concentrated on the task at hand, his eyebrows are still knit together, making him look like he has a personal grudge against plaque. However, his gaze holds no particular emotion as he tilts Eren's head backwards slightly for easier access. When he runs a finger along Eren's gums to check for infection, Eren allows himself to relax and tries to tell himself that this isn't so bad, after all. It's like getting a massage or a facial treatment or something – you'll feel better afterwards, and even though it's uncomfortable now, he knows he'll be thanking himself later.

As if on their own, his eyelids close as he tries to envision himself on a paradise island with free drinks and massages every day, though the light touch on his jaw as Dr. Ackerman holds his mouth open somewhat breaks his fantasy.

Speaking of fantasies, it seems that one part of his body hasn't gotten the message that _he's at the fucking dentist._

His eyes fly open as he realizes this fact, immediately crossing his legs in a clumsy attempt to hide the unwanted reaction.

Who the hell gets a boner at the dentist? Just who?

Well, Eren fucking Jaeger, that's who. If his mouth weren't otherwise occupied (in a decidedly non-sexual manner, mind you), he would've belted out every single expletive he knew.

Maybe it's because there's things in his mouth. Besides, having someone poke at your teeth puts you in a pretty vulnerable position, so in that way he supposes that it could be considered an intimate experience. Okay, and he won't dismiss the fact that his dentist has remarkably sharp and well-defined features under that mask as well, but popping a boner while the aforementioned dentist is scraping off his plaque is a bit strange, even on Eren's standards.

He's a young guy, okay? He gets boners all the time. Once he got a boner when watching the weather report, and he still has no idea what it was about torrential rain that made his titan awaken. These things happen when you're young.

"Stop squirming," Dr. Ackerman tells him and places his hand down on Eren's shoulder again, this time just a fraction lower. The contact only adds more fuel to the fire, making Eren squirm harder, which in turn makes Dr. Ackerman press down harder.

Things are certainly getting hard in more ways than one, but so far Dr. Ackerman hasn't seemed to notice Eren's little problem, and he thanks his lucky stars for that. He has to cease his squirming, however, because while he enjoys having that constant warm weight on his shoulder, he would rather get rid of his awkward erection as soon as possible.

To achieve this, he tries to think of gross things, like that one yogurt he forgot to throw out that started growing mold, the prepacked meals sold at the campus cafeteria, and Jean's feet. The last one makes his boner droop considerably, but then Dr. Ackerman is sliding his fingers along the lining of his gums again and he has to imagine Jean's feet growing mold in order to keep himself contained within his pants.

_This is so ridiculous,_ he thinks, grateful when Dr. Ackerman announces that he'll move to work on his cavity. Eren is less thrilled when he realizes this means that Dr. Ackerman will have to stand up and go to his other side, which will give him a perfect view of Eren's half-boner.

"Wait!" he barks out once the tools are out of his mouth. "I think there's still something there, at the very back of my teeth."

Dr. Ackerman looks at him with clear disbelief. "I was very thorough, believe me."

"No, no, there's definitely something," Eren claims as he runs his tongue over his upper teeth. There's nothing there, of course, but he literally does not care, as long as Dr. Ackerman doesn't switch places right now at this very moment.

"Well, let's take a look, then," he says grudgingly, and as he peers inside for only a couple of seconds before retreating. "Told you so, all clean."

"Do you think teeth can grow mold?" Eren asks. He tries to imagine Jean's feet covered in moldy teeth, and he's pretty sure he can hear his boner retreating inside his body at the mental image. Dr. Ackerman looks absolutely baffled at the question.

"Mold cannot grow in your mouth," he simply says. "Take a few breaths or something while I get the filling material ready."

With Jean's feet in mind, Eren endures the rest of the appointment. It takes Dr. Ackerman only a short amount of time to fill the small cavity, and he doesn't even have to use a drill for it. Once Eren is seated in an upright position again, he scrawls the time and date of the next appointment onto his patient card and hands it to him before sending him off.

It's only four days away, Eren notes as he studies the card at home. He has four days to calm down his dick or risk complete embarrassment.


	2. Chapter 2

“What in the actual fuck, Eren,” Armin says.

They’re seated at the kitchen table, this time both of them immersed in their notes and textbooks, or at least they were until Eren mentioned his weird erection. Studying has worn both of them down, and with Eren’s next dentist’s appointment just around the corner, he’s starting to fray at the seams.

“Dude, I know,” he utters, face planted against his book. The words blur into meaningless squiggles as he rubs his face against them in hopes of shedding himself of the strange and unwelcome thirst for his dentist. “I’m a pervert. A dentistsexual.”

“Maybe it was just the gloves?” Armin suggests as he chews on his pen. “Maybe you have a medical kink or something.”

Eren doesn’t even want to know why or how Armin is aware those kinds of fetishes exist, so he gives a shrug. “What do I do, Armin?” he pleads as he glances up, swatting away the page that’s glued on his face. Armin is smart, and in Eren’s eyes he knows literally everything, so he must have some solution to offer. He always does.

The blond is silent for a while as he thinks. “You should fuck the dentist,” he says, and Eren’s jaw nearly drops to the floor. “Just saying. Was he attractive?”

“I’m not going to fuck the dentist,” Eren sputters, hiding the faint blush on his face by burying his head in his hands. The thought conjures up all kinds of scenarios that he has to chase out for the sake of his own sanity. “And yes, but that’s not the point.”

“Look, I have no idea what to tell you,” Armin admits, stretching his arms above his head as he yawns. “It’s just a natural reaction.”

“There’s nothing natural about being aroused by dentists,” Eren puts in.

“It’s a natural reaction,” he repeats with an admonishing look, “and unless you tape your dick to your thigh, there’s not much you can do.”

Eren’s face lights up and Armin rushes to continue. “But seriously, don’t tape your dick to your thigh,” he says, cringing. “Remember what happened the last day of freshman year when you did that?”

He does, and shudders at the memory. “Okay, no dick taping,” he agrees. “How do I deal with this, then?”

“Well, maybe you can focus on the pain and discomfort of the procedure, that could make it go down,” Armin suggests, and though it’s not the perfect solution, it’s better than his first response.

“Pain and discomfort,” Eren repeats. “How fun.”

“Unless that’s what gets you going, of course,” Armin says and wiggles his eyebrows at him until Eren barks out a laugh and punches him in the arm.

The next day he’s no longer laughing when he sits in the waiting room again, this time reading through a magazine article about the latest autumn trends (bell-shaped dresses are coming back, apparently.) He’s worn extra-loose pants for this appointment, but he’s not sure how much they’ll hide, and he can’t quite stop the constant bouncing of his leg as he keeps glancing at the clock on the wall.

Precisely after three seconds past his appointed time, he’s called in by none other than Dr. Ackerman. Eren had been hoping that he would’ve caught whatever it was that Dr. Smith had.

As he rises from his seat and begins his walk of shame into the office, he takes a moment to size up Dr. Ackerman, as creepy as that sounds. Despite his short stature, he still manages to look intimidating and he’s only standing there. Now that he can get a good look at his face, Eren can confirm his earlier impression that his dentist is quite easy on the eyes, even if he’s perpetually angry-looking. But it’s a sort of angry look that’s also attractive, if that makes any sense.

“Will you sit down on your own, or do I have to tell you to again?” Dr. Ackerman asks as he closes the door behind them. Eren responds to this by sauntering across the floor with his teeth clenched together and taking a seat. Dr. Ackerman says nothing to that, circling around to lower the back of the chair.

As Eren settles in, he focuses his eyes on the ceiling and tries to think of unsexy things, such as the agony he’s about to endure. After having spent all his time worrying about erections, he’d nearly forgotten to worry about the actual procedure. There’s a tray to his left that houses a variety of instruments, along with an attachment on which there’s a couple of tools Eren doesn’t recognize, and one that he unfortunately does – a drill.

Dr. Ackerman apparently notices the startled way he eyes the drill, because he appears by his side with arms folded over his chest. “Okay, you’re being more than a bit nervous,” he points out, not bothering to tiptoe around the subject. “Do you have a dental phobia?”

Eren raises his head up in protest. “It’s not a phobia. I just don’t like dentists,” he says, but then backpedals. “No offense, I’m sure you’re a decent person and everything-“

Dr. Ackerman cuts him off with a wave of his hand. “We get that a lot,” he says. “None taken. Would you like additional sedatives?”

“No, it’s fine.” He wants to say something like ‘be gentle with me’, but stops himself at the last minute. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Dr. Ackerman gives a nod, falling silent as he prepares for the procedure, taking out the needed instruments. Meanwhile Eren attempts to calm down his breathing and think of nice things. But not too nice, he reminds the downstairs department that’s been pleasantly quiet so far. He keeps his eyes open and stares at the ceiling, and when Dr. Ackerman’s face appears above him, Eren even manages to open his mouth without being prompted.

There’s a tiny pinch as Dr. Ackerman injects the local anesthesia, but Eren figures that it’s nothing compared to how the drill will feel. He can hear the faint throb of his own pulse in his ears as he tries his best to relax into the chair, hands balling into fists.

Pain and discomfort definitely do not get him going, at least not in this context.

He closes his eyes and the sounds of Dr. Ackerman moving around blends in with the hum of the air conditioning. Now and then there’s a clinking of instruments to be heard, and when Eren suddenly feels cold steel against his cheek, he nearly jumps. Due to the anesthesia, he can’t feel what Dr. Ackerman is doing to his tooth, but if the scraping sounds are anything to go by, it’s not something he’d like to feel.

When the incessant scraping stops at last he breathes out a sigh of relief. Or at least he would, if his mouth wasn’t propped open by some kind of a suctioning thing that’s producing a loud hum as it nestles against the inside of his cheek when he tries to swallow.

“Please keep your mouth open,” Dr. Ackerman calls out from somewhere above him, his voice sounding bored. He must do this every day, Eren thinks, so that means he must know what he’s doing. There’s no need to be concerned.

He’s concerned anyway, tensing up as he waits for what’s to come. “Still doing alright?” Dr. Ackerman questions. He’s resting his hand on Eren’s shoulder like before, this time only a light touch aiming to command his attention.

“I’ve been better,” he replies, and forces his muscles to relax. “Just go on, it’ll be fine.” The small contact helps end his train of thought that’s quickly heading to bad places, and he takes another moment to remind himself that Dr. Ackerman is a licensed professional, not someone who just likes to poke at people’s teeth for fun.

Eren cracks his eyes open when he feels Dr. Ackerman reaching over him. He takes the drill from its stand and examines the head, testing it by tapping it against his palm. Apparently unsatisfied, he takes out the small burr and puts in a larger one. It makes a shrill noise as Dr. Ackerman switches it on briefly, soon turning it off. He nudges aside the suction and pulls Eren’s lip down in order to get a good view of the cavity, and then brings the drill closer.

In the next few seconds, there are many things that occur simultaneously.

Dr. Ackerman turns the drill on, and when Eren registers the sound that is now much closer to his vulnerable mouth along with the faint vibration against his cheek, he bolts up.

There’s a stinging at his lower lip, but what’s more concerning is the fact that he’s slammed his head against the halogen lamp and flung his protective glasses off, blinding himself in the process.

He hears muffled cussing, but he can’t figure out which direction it’s coming from. Seeing nothing but bright light, he flails his arms out and tries to grab on to something to steady himself. This only results in him tumbling down over the lowered armrest and falling flat on his ass on the office floor with one hand clasped on his head and the other over his mouth. It feels wet, and there’s a strange taste spreading over his tongue, which he soon recognizes as blood. He’s bleeding.

“Fuck me, that’s gonna be another malpractice charge,” he hears Dr. Ackerman’s voice mutter. “Are you alright? Come on, let’s get you up. Tilt your head back.” His hand is firm at the back of Eren’s neck as he urges him to tilt his head backwards. Eren raises his hand to rub at his bleeding lower lip, only to have it snatched away.

“Don’t touch it, you’ll only make it worse,” Dr. Ackerman fusses. “Now up.” He helps Eren stand, but instead of directing him towards the dentist’s chair, he guides him to a small stool by the desk, for which Eren is secretly grateful.

“This is the most humiliating thing that has ever happened to me,” Eren groans. He can barely any feel any pain due to the anesthesia, but the sight of his hands tarnished by his own blood makes him queasy, and it’s a good thing that Dr. Ackerman is still holding his head up with one hand while reaching for tissues with the other because Eren is sure he’d slump right back down to the floor otherwise.

“Shit happens.” Dr. Ackerman says. He wipes off the blood from Eren’s lip while Eren himself is busy trying to remember which way is up and which way is down.

“What _happened_?” he asks, head still spinning.

“You freaked out and cut yourself on the drill and then sort of flopped down,” Dr. Ackerman summarizes the events for him. “Though if I’d known you’d practically assault me while doing so, I would have definitely given you more sedatives.”

When he’s finally able to refocus his gaze, he sees that there’s a small red splotch on the side of Dr. Ackerman’s face and realizes that it’s beginning to bruise. Eren must have accidentally hit him in his haste to escape from the drill.

“Oh crap, I’m so sorry, Dr. Ackerman,” Eren exclaims with his eyes blown wide. This is twenty times worse than getting a boner.

“Don’t call me a doctor, that’s weird. Reminds me of my mom,” he says in response as he produces a small bottle of antiseptic from his chest pocket. Eren wonders if he happens to carry one around all the time. “It’s Levi.”

“Uh, Levi, then,” Eren stammers. Now that he realizes what’s happened, he’s mortified. “I didn’t mean to hit you, I swear, I had no idea what I was doing.”

“Clearly,” Levi retorts with a serious glance. His face doesn’t show many emotions, but Eren thinks he can see an inkling of concern in the way his brows are knit together. “Stop moving your mouth so much, you’re making the bleeding worse.”

That probably translates to ‘stop talking’, but Eren still tries to form words while keeping his jaw in place, his speech slightly slurred. “The drill was just really loud and I think I panicked.” Levi dabs at his lip with a tissue soaked in antiseptic and Eren flinches at the burn. “Is it bad?”

“Just a scratch. Might have punctured some minor capillary since it’s still bleeding, but it only looks bad,” Levi says. He holds a fresh tissue against Eren’s lower lip. “Press on it and keep your head tilted back.”

As Eren reaches up to hold the tissue against his bleeding lip, his fingers briefly brush against Levi’s, and even though the contact only lasts for a tenth of a second at most, it still helps Eren to steady himself. He applies pressure to the cut as Levi goes to leaf through Eren’s patient file that’s open on the desk.

Blowing out a long breath, Eren leans his head on the wall behind him. It’s solid and safe against his back as he confesses, “Maybe I do have a phobia after all.”

“Ah, guess that’s why Dr. Smith was going to do you. Well,” he flips the page to check his details, “Eren, looks like we have a little problem in our hands.”

There are a dozen different jokes – most about his boner that luckily seems to be dormant for now – that could be inserted here, but Eren opts to just give a defeated shake of his head. “Tell me about it,” he says. “My childhood dentist was horrible and smelled of fish all the time, so I guess I was a bit traumatized by him.”

Levi’s mouth curves upwards in what could almost be called a smile, and Eren thinks that he looks so much nicer when he’s not frowning. “I see.” That’s all he says, but the amused glint remains in his eyes as he fills a disposable plastic cup with water and hands it to Eren. “Drink. To get the taste of blood out of your mouth.”

Eren is sure it’s not intentional on Levi’s part, but his hand lingers on Eren’s again as he passes him the cup. He’s removed his gloves and mask at some point, Eren notices now, but soon turns his attention to the drink offered to him. The water is cool and calming as he swallows it down, flushing out the metallic tang that’s stuck to the back of his throat.

One of Levi’s ungloved hands is cupping his chin and gently turning his head to the side as he inspects the area of his jaw Eren injured while he was flailing around. “I can’t work on you now,” he sighs, and instead of fish, Eren smells peppermint and something that faintly resembles bleach in his exhale and thinks, _that’s a bit odd_. “There’s too much swelling at this part, not to mention that you still look like a deer in the headlights that’s shat its pants. Chill out, kid. You’re okay now.” The reassurance is accompanied with a friendly clap on the shoulder.

While Eren’s certainly curious about the mechanics of deer wearing pants, he decides not to ask. “Sorry,” he mumbles as he glances downwards. Levi yanks his head right back up.

“Head up,” he reminds Eren. “And stop apologizing. I don’t really mind, it was just a light smack. You’ll have to come in for a third appointment, and more patients mean more money.”

“Right. Third appointment,” Eren says, and after Levi once again reminds him to keep his head up and press at the wound in a stern tone of voice, he moves to the computer, opening up one of the documents.

“Shall I book you with Dr. Smith? He has some available times next week,” he says as he clicks a few keys on the keyboard.

It only takes Eren a split second to make up his mind as he swipes his tongue across the cavity. The anesthesia is slowly wearing off and the familiar ache is starting to set in. “No, that’s okay, I’d rather get this over with as soon as possible,” he answers. “You’re just fine.” _In more ways than one,_ he mentally adds, because Levi’s once again looking at him with one corner of his lips quirked up in a lopsided smirk, and Eren gets the sudden urge to say more things that’ll make him smile.

“You’d be the one of the first people to think that,” he drawls before turning back towards the screen. Eren watches as Levi’s slender fingers click away at the keyboard and as odd as it may sounds, he longs to feel those fingers on his skin again. “We will have a discussion first.”

“Okay,” Eren agrees, though he’s not sure what Levi means.

“And you will let me know if you need a break,” he goes on, turning halfway towards Eren. “By some other means than punching me, preferably.”

“No, I mean, of course. Sorry, I won’t punch you,” Eren promises with an enthusiastic nod. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

“I know. Stop apologizing,” Levi scoffs, pinching the bridge of his nose as he glances back at the screen, and Eren nearly apologizes again for apologizing so much but closes his mouth just in time. “Is Friday afternoon alright?”

“Yeah,” Eren says. He thinks the bleeding has subsided by now, but he still keeps the tissue close to his face as he stands, grabbing the edge of the desk. “Friday’s good.”

Once he’s hobbled out of the office with his bloody lip, getting a few curious glances from the other patients in the waiting room, and seated in his car, he at last drops the tissue and eyes his lip in the rear-view mirror. There’s a small cut there, and he wonders how such a tiny wound can cause so much trouble.

Though the tissue is covered in specks of red, he tucks it in his pocket instead of throwing it out for some reason, surprised that it still holds a weak scent of peppermint.


	3. Chapter 3

The tissue sits on top of Eren’s dresser, and whenever he passes by, he questions why he hasn’t thrown the thing in the trash, already, but then he remembers the feel of Levi’s hand on his jaw and knows why.

The tissue itself is just that – a tissue. It’s square, white and bloodied, and Eren has no genuine reason to hold on to it. He can waltz to the store and buy himself a fresh packet of tissues, for goodness’ sake. He tells this to himself over and over again, becoming more and more agitated when it does nothing to soothe the tension beneath his ribcage that grows stronger every time he recounts the events that led to him acquiring said tissue.

He tries his best to ignore the sensation, but instead of disappearing, it persists. It’s as if there’s something wild and eager that has crawled its way into his chest and made its nest there, and the worst thing is that Eren is highly aware of what’s going on, as much as he attempts to deny it and twist it into something that’ll make more sense.

Tissues are dumb, he decides eventually. Cavities are also dumb and feelings are dumb and he _does not_  have a crush on his dentist. That would just be pathetic.

What he does have is a little problem – and this is no time for dick jokes, because his skin keeps itching for something he can’t have or even understand. He’s a bundle of nerves, but this time it’s no longer due the drill. This is a different problem entirely that cannot be solved with extra sedatives.

Which is why, once again, he turns to Armin.

This time Jean is with them as well, and he spends a good fifteen minutes laughing at Eren’s misfortune. He’s the one who’s buying, so unfortunately Eren can’t just kick him out. Since it’s getting late, there are no other customers in the small diner to overhear about Eren’s various struggles with getting his cavities filled.

He swears if Jean cracks one more joke about cavities and tools he’s gonna lob his pancake at his stupid horse face.

“Oh man, you’re one messed up dude, Jeager,” Jean chortles from across the table.

“I know,” Eren agrees but sticks out his tongue at Jean for good measure. He can feel his sore tooth give a small throb as he chews on a piece of pancake.

“It is kinda funny, you have to admit,” Armin points out. He’s seated next to Eren, and though his expression is more sympathetic than Jean’s, he’s biting down on his lip to hide the grin that’s threatening to spread across his face.

Funny or not, Eren is the one stuck with a tightness across his chest and a shiver resonating under his skin that only intensify the more he thinks on them. “How do I get over this?” he asks as he rubs a hand over his face, careful to avoid the side with the cavity.

“Quite honestly, I’m sticking to that very first thing I suggested.” Armin’s eyebrows have evolved from just wiggling to doing some kind of an elaborate dance number now, and Eren has to applaud his skills, even if he doesn’t agree.

“Still not going to fuck the dentist,” he retorts.

“But you’d like to,” Jean puts in.

“Yes. No!” Eren cries out once he catches his slip-up. “Maybe. I don’t know. I think I’d rather… “ He trails off mid-sentence, leaving both Jean and Armin staring at him.

“You’d rather what?” Armin asks as he studies his friend’s expression that could only be described as dreamy.

For the first time since the appointment, Eren allows himself to truly dwell on the thought. He recalls the feeling of Levi’s graceful fingers on his jaw and the small smile he’d been able to coax out from him. It’s difficult to put into words properly, so Eren ends up shaking his head. “I don’t know. Touch his hands or something like that first.”

“I think I’m gonna throw up.” Jean makes a gagging sound. “You’re so sappy.” Armin is saying something about gloves and fetishes again, but because Eren does not want to even think of the words ‘Armin’ and ‘fetish’ existing in the same sentence, he focuses on stabbing his pancake with his fork.

“But seriously, go get your man,” Armin finishes.

“I don’t know about that. I really don’t,” he replies, stretching out his words. “He’s gotta be at least ten years older than me and he probably has a wife and kids.” As soon as those words escape his mouth, he can feel a heaviness settling over him. Of course he’s aware that a college kid like him wouldn’t stand a chance, but saying it out loud makes it more real.

“Oh? Did he wear a ring?” Armin inquires.

“Pretty sure there are some hygiene standards against that,” Eren replies. He keeps his eyes cast downwards as he studies the swirls of maple syrup on his plate. “I don’t know, isn’t that what adults do?”

He hears more than sees Armin shrug next to him. “You could always ask him.”

Eren forces out a monotonous laugh that feels bitter as it tumbles from his mouth. “That’s not something that comes up naturally with your dentist.”

“Something else does come up naturally, though,” Jean snickers. “I mean your erection, by the way.”

“Yeah, thanks for that valuable contribution,” Eren retorts and flings a tiny piece of pancake at Jean.

“I say you should go for it,” Armin states. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Yeah, you’ve already popped a boner and hit him in the face,” Jean reminds. “Might as well go the full nine yards and ask him out on a date.”

Eren considers this very carefully over the next couple of days leading up to his third appointment. It’s true that he’s already made a complete ass out of himself and it’s also true that Levi has been nothing but kind to him regardless of everything, but asking him out would be crossing the line.

On the other hand, Eren can’t get the image of the two of them out of his head.

They could go out for coffee on their first date, that’s a safe choice. Maybe Levi would have an espresso or something else loaded with caffeine, and maybe he’d aimlessly skitter his fingers across Eren’s as he listened to him talk. Eren talks a lot when he’s nervous, and Levi makes him nervous in a way that has nothing to do with his fear of dentists.

Said fear is still lurking in the back of his mind, attractive dentists be damned. He remembers the cold and mechanical buzz of the drill that grew louder as it approached while he lay trapped in the chair, and it’s quite possibly the best boner-deterrent in the world, so he has nothing to worry about in that regard. To rid himself of the uneasiness gnawing at his resolution, he swipes his tongue over the tooth with the cavity, taking in the ache that shoots through him, and he tells himself that it’s just one more appointment.

Though this thought helps suppress his anxiety, it instills a kind of longing in its place. One more appointment and he’ll never have to step into that office again. A week ago he would’ve been ecstatic, but now it’s not so simple any more.

This time – the last time, he reminds himself and tries to ignore the invisible weight pressing down on his lungs – he arrives nearly half an hour early. It gives him time to stare at the posters hanging on the walls that warn about the dangers of gum disease. Patients come and go around him as he sits there, sliding down in his chair with his legs splayed out and his mind on what’s about to come.

“You’re early,” a voice states from his left, and when Eren turns to look, he sees Levi standing there and holding a cup of coffee. He’s looking at Eren with one brow raised and a half-smile playing across his lips. His sudden appearance makes Eren scramble up, sneakers skidding across the linoleum floor.

“Yeah,” he breathes out and tries not to stare at the few dark strands of hair that have escaped from behind Levi’s ear. He imagines what it would feel like to brush them aside and to trail his fingertips over the other man’s scalp and down to the side of his cheek and the line of his jaw, and he’s sure that Levi’s asked him something because of the questioning look on his face.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Eren says as he tears his eyes away from Levi’s face.

“I didn’t say anything,” he replies, but instead of looking annoyed he simply looks amused. “You sort of spaced out with a look of impending doom in your eyes.”

_If by impending doom you mean complete adoration, then yes,_  he responds inside his head before realizing that Levi hadn’t really asked him a question that would warrant an answer. “Yeah,” he begins lamely. “I’m a bit nervous, I guess.”

“It shows,” Levi says. “I’m on break now but you can come in already if you’d like to mentally prepare yourself.”

_I bet that’s not the only thing you’d like to **come** in, if you know what I mean,_ a voice that’s awfully similar to Jean’s jeers inside his head and that’s one mental image he’ll have to store away for later when he’s having quality time with himself, but now he has to put his mind on the procedure.

“That would be great,” he rasps out and follows Levi into the office for one last time.

Eren doesn’t look at the dentist’s chair and the drill that is no doubt waiting somewhere nearby; instead he’s busy processing the feel of Levi’s hand on his upper back as he guides Eren to sit down by the desk. Though it’s nice and calming, it probably shouldn’t make Eren feel as safe as it does. He’s still not over the fact that it is, indeed, kind of weird to have a crush on your dentist – but by now he’s at least gotten over the denial stage.

Levi’s glancing through his file again and Eren hopes that he hasn’t marked him down as that one patient who punched him. “How are you feeling?” he asks. Even though he doesn’t glance up from the papers, Eren thinks he can hear and edge of compassion in his voice.

“Well,” Eren begins, only to fall silent a second after. _Confused and oddly attracted to you,_ he wants to blurt out as he tries to think of something else to say.

He’s been silent long enough to command Levi’s attention. The man is looking at him with his cup of coffee raised halfway up to his lips, a questioning expression on his features. “Well?” he prompts Eren to go on. “Or do you mean well as in okay?”

“Both?” he guesses and immediately knows that his response makes no sense. “Uh, a bit tense and concerned.”

“Do you want me to talk you through the operation and tell you what I’m doing?” Even before Levi’s finished his sentence, Eren is already shaking his head.

“No talking,” he says. “It’s better if I don’t know what’s going on.”

“That’s understandable,” Levi replies. He takes a sip of his coffee and then sets it down. “When you need a break, all you’ll have to do is raise your hand up or give me some other sign.”

“Of course, yeah,” Eren agrees. It’s starting to dawn on him that he’ll soon be lying down, completely helpless as Levi gouges out a part of his tooth.

“You can go and sit down whenever you’re ready,” Levi says, flipping Eren’s file closed and moving to the side to rifle through the cupboards. Eren swallows heavily and turns his eyes to the chair at last. It sits there under the gleaming lights, looking as inconspicuous as a modern instrument of torture can look.

Before he rises, Eren takes in a long breath and holds it in as he rises up on his feet. The few steps he has to take in order to reach the chair feel like several miles, but eventually he gets there. As soon as he leans back, the familiar panic starts to creep in, and in order to keep it at bay he clenches his hands into fists and bites down on his lip hard.

“Don’t do that, you might open up the wound again,” Levi’s voice calls out from above him, his hand carefully tugging at Eren’s chin to get him to stop.

“I won’t, it’s fine,” he insists, but allows his mouth to fall open nonetheless.

“Are you ready to begin?” Levi asks as he hovers above him. Eren’s never going to be ready, but he gives a strained nod.

Levi begins by injecting Eren with local anesthesia again, and Eren can’t bring himself to watch the syringe being guided into its proper spot. From the tiny jab that follows and the numbness that soon spreads over his mouth, he can tell that it’s working. In fact, Levi informs him that he’s increased the dose by a quarter, just to make sure it’ll last through the entire procedure, no matter how slow they go.

“I know you said you didn’t want me to talk, but I’m going to start off with this,” Levi holds up an instrument with a sharp point at its end, “and then we’ll move on to the drill.”

“Okay,” Eren says, and then, after Levi has already begun working on his tooth, he emits out a faint garble as a poor imitation of words.

The probe is immediately removed from his mouth. “Do you need a break?”

“No, no,” Eren says. “I just meant to say that I don’t mind if you talk in general, actually I’d like that, just… just not about what’s going on.”

Though half of Levi’s face is covered, there’s an unmistakable look of amusement in his eyes. “Okay then.” If he thinks the request is a strange one, he doesn’t show it as he continues scraping at the surface of Eren’s tooth. “In general, huh. You mean like the weather or sports or something?”

“Anything,” Eren tries to say, but it comes out as a jumbled mess of syllables. Levi seems to understand and gives a nod in acknowledgement.

“I’m blanking out horribly right now,” he admits. “Anything is a pretty wide topic. Oh, wait, I can tell you a joke.” For a moment, Levi looks hesitant, apparently remembering that Eren has a metallic probe in his mouth and cannot even talk properly, let alone laugh.

“Okay, that’s a bad idea. I’ll tell you a joke after we’re done here,” he ends up saying, and that’s something Eren will hold on to for later. “Sorry, I don’t really talk much.”

“Maybe you should,” Eren replies, and this time his speech is more coherent since Levi has stopped scraping at his tooth and is placing the instrument back on the tray next to him.

Levi shrugs, the mask effectively covering any hints of a frown at Eren’s audacity. “Maybe. Sit up and drink some water. Are you doing okay so far?”

Eren takes the cup handed to him, and watches Levi draw back and remove his gloves. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He stares insistently at Levi’s left hand, looking for a ring or even imprints or tan lines that could have been left by a ring.

“I used these to touch the tap so I’m getting a new pair just to be safe,” Levi explains, having noticed Eren’s stare. He knows he shouldn’t stare because he’s really going to blow his cover any minute now, but Levi’s hands look so incredibly skilled and enticing, even when clad in latex.

Side note: Eren might have to consult Armin about issues related to hands and fetishes, since his friend seems to be rather knowledgeable in those areas of life as well.

“You’re spacing out again,” Levi’s voice brings him back to reality, and there goes Eren’s chance of seeing any signs of a ring as he pulls on a fresh pair of gloves.

“That happens a lot these days,” Eren sighs and squeezes his eyes closed briefly before opening them again. “Let’s just continue.” The statement sounds shaky and pathetic to his ears, and though Levi does not look convinced, he tells Eren to lie back down again.

“I’m going to use the drill on you now,” Levi says once he’s settled. His voice is slow and purposeful as he reaches over Eren’s torso and grabs the drill from its stand. Eren tenses up at the sight of it, which prompts Levi to place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“I’m going to turn it on,” he says, “but I’m only putting it over your mouth, not at the tooth yet. Remember to raise your hand if you need a break.”

“Yes, okay,” Eren says, and when Levi makes no move to proceed, he adds, “You can go on.”

He does, and turns the drill on. Its vicious noise pierces through the air in an instant, making Eren tense all over again, and Levi’s hand is back on his shoulder again. “Still okay?” Levi calls out, and Eren realizes that his lips are practically next to his ear so that his voice isn’t drowned out by the drill.

“I think so, yeah,” Eren breathes out. He forces himself to look at the drill, to study its contours and the spinning burr at the end, and wills himself to relax and to rely on Levi’s hand that hasn’t moved an inch from its place.

“Can I go on?” The words are laced with concern, and though Eren knows that his face and posture tell the opposite, he gives a shaky nod.

“Do you want me to talk about something?” he asks, and Eren latches on to that question.

“If you could, please,” he replies, and with that, he has to close his eyes because he knows what’s about to come.

Over the buzz of the drill, he can hear Levi give a small hum. “What should I talk about, then?” he muses out loud as he brings the drill closer. “On my way to work today I nearly ran over a squirrel. Are you going to stay still?”

He faintly registers that Levi’s asking him this because he’s about to start drilling. “Yes,” he answers and digs his nails into the soft upholstery of the chair. “Just talk about something, I’ll be alright.”

“Yeah, it would be quite unpleasant if you hit me again,” he hears Levi remark. There’s cold metal against his mouth, and Levi’s voice and the pressure of his hand on Eren’s shoulder are the only things currently keeping him sane. “And if you didn’t have things in your mouth, I bet you’d be apologizing yet again.”

Due to the anesthesia, he cannot feel a thing, but he can hear the sound of the drill varying as it’s digging in to his tooth. “It wasn’t even that bad, after all,” Levi goes on. His hand has progressed to rubbing small circles in the space between Eren’s chest and shoulder which makes him think that enduring a bit of discomfort might be worth it if it means having Levi touch him in the process. “I went home and put some ice on it and it was just fine the next morning.”

This knowledge makes Eren feel more at ease. He contemplates asking if Levi’s hypothetical wife and kids remarked on the slight bruising, but alas, there are things in his mouth, not to mention that it’s still not a very appropriate question to ask of your dentist.

Only a few more seconds of the drill grinding away at his tooth, Levi pulls back. “I’m shutting it off now,” he announces. “Great job, Eren. The worst part is over.”

He opens his eyes and watches Levi remove the burr and place the drill back on its stand. He has to stop touching Eren in order to do this, much to Eren’s displeasure. “That fast?” he asks.

“Yeah. Do you need a break or some water?”

Careful to avoid touching the tooth being operated on, he shakes his head slightly. “No. We can continue.”

After the drilling part is all over and done with, the rest of the appointment goes without incident. It’s almost too soon that Levi’s raising the back of the seat, giving Eren one of his rare smiles as he removes his mask and gloves.

“You did well,” he says, “much better than last time.”

“I’m going to be forever embarrassed by last time,” Eren sighs as he rubs a hand over the numbed side of his face, relieved.

“It was certainly memorable,” Levi says. He jots down a few sentences in Eren’s file. “Your tooth may be sensitive for a couple of days, so it’s best to stay away from cold foods and beverages.”

As much as he pokes around, the anesthesia is still in effect so he cannot feel a thing. However, the surface of his tooth feels smoother against his tongue somehow, and when Eren moves to stand in front of the mirror on the wall and opens his mouth, the tooth looks no different than the rest of his teeth.

While Eren has been fascinated by the fact that he no longer has any cavities, he’s managed to zone out everything Levi’s said. It isn’t until the man closes his file and stores it away in the drawers that Eren recalls that this is the part where he’s meant to leave the office.

“Unless you have any questions, you’re free to go and enjoy your weekend,” Levi finishes, rising from his seat to see Eren out.

“Now that you mention it,” Eren begins. He’s stalling, trying to avoid the inevitable moment when he steps over that threshold again and returns to his everyday life. “I was wondering if, if there’s something specific I can do in the future to avoid getting cavities.”

It’s quite possibly the most vague question ever, but it’s all Eren can think of at the moment.

Levi glances at him from head to toe, head tilted to the side. “Brush and floss regularly, perhaps?” he suggests with a raised brow. “Surely that’s something you were already taught as a kid.”

“Yeah, I think so,” Eren replies. He needs just a couple of questions, anything to keep him in the office and in Levi’s vicinity for just a bit longer; maybe then he’ll be able to find a reason for the sudden restlessness that has fallen over him. “But it’s not possible for mold to grow in your mouth, right?”

Levi’s expression turns surprised. He leans against the desk behind him and crosses his arms as he regards Eren with an unreadable expression. “No, it’s not.”

“Why is that?” Eren persists, his eyes darting from the tips of his sneakers to the exposed skin peeking from under Levi’s collar as his thoughts race a mile a minute.

“The inside of a human’s mouth does not provide the necessary conditions for mold to grow and reproduce,” Levi explains with an unreadable expression.

That information will not be useful to Eren in any way, but he has to keep asking questions, just any questions. “Can mold grow in other parts of your body?”

“I’m a dentist. I specialize in teeth, not other body parts,” Levi replies with a smile, and this is where Eren discovers that he absolutely cannot leave now, not until he gets at least one more smile like that, hopefully even more.

“How about-,” he begins, but Levi interrupts him

“Eren,” he says, his expression unusually soft, as if he’s trying to shoo out an eager child without offending them. “I have my next patient coming in a couple of minutes.”

“Oh, sorry,” Eren replies, swallowing down in an effort to get rid of the lump in his throat, but it’s lodged in there tight and not going anywhere. “I’ll be going, then.” Despite of saying this, he doesn’t yet make any move to get out. Levi’s eyes feel heavy on him, and Eren is relieved when he looks away at last, picking up a blank piece of paper from the desk.

“Well then, Eren,” he says as he scribbles down something on it. “If you think of any more questions, give me a call and I’ll try to answer them to the best of my ability.”

“About teeth? Or just in general?” Eren asks, growing hopeful. Levi doesn’t reply, and Eren breath catches in his throat as Levi steps forward and tucks the piece of paper in Eren’s chest pocket.

“See you later, Eren,” Levi concludes, and Eren’s so entranced by the way his name rolls off Levi’s lips that he doesn’t protest when he’s led out through the door.

Eren doesn’t dare to look at the paper until he’s in the safety of his car, and when he does, he finds a phone number and Levi’s name written on it. It’s purely for professional reasons, of course, Eren tells himself, paying no mind to the disappointment that washes over him.

The parking lot is empty and no-one can see as Eren thumps his head against the steering wheel, cussing at himself for being such a mess. When he reaches to put the piece of paper into the pocket of his jeans, his fingers graze over the patient card also tucked in there. He pulls it out and stares at the time and date for today written down in that same messy scrawl. It’s the only part of the card he’s ever paid attention to, but now his attention drifts to the contact information listed at the top.

Along with the address of the clinic, his dentist’s contact information - including e-mail and phone number - are listed there, but there’s something weird. The first few digits are different than on the piece of paper Levi handed him earlier. Eren holds both the card and the paper side-by-side and comes to the conclusion that these are two different phone numbers.

It takes a moment for it to sink in, but finally Eren’s eyes widen in realization. The number on the patient card is obviously Levi’s work number, but since the number on the paper is different, it must be his _personal_ number.

“What,” Eren says out loud, his palms sweating as he holds on to the steering wheel, thankful that he’s still parked. Levi wants him to call his personal number and ask him questions; maybe ones that aren’t just about teeth.

_Play it cool, play it cool,_ he chants to himself inside his head as he speeds home, going through two red lights on the way. _Don’t get too clingy. That’s not what adults do. Wait until next week._

His resolution crumbles the same evening when Jean and Armin announce they’re heading to the bar, and despite their coaxing he announces at he’s going to stay home for tonight. When the door slams shut behind them, Eren unfolds the crumpled paper and with shaky hands, dials in the number and presses call.

Levi picks up after a few rings, and Eren is momentarily rendered speechless.

“Hi,” he at last forces out, wincing at the sound of his wavering voice, “it’s Eren.”

There’s a dry chuckle on the other end, and the sound makes something inside Eren flutter. “Took you a while.”


	4. extra

The first thing Eren registers when he wakes is that he’s sitting upright again. Everything around him is blurred and out of focus, so he settles on staring at the gray circle on the wall. When his eyes come into focus, he recognizes the shape as the clock and remembers at once where he is.

Though he’s been told not to do so, he swipes his tongue over the areas where his wisdom teeth used to be. In their place in the bottom row are now endless holes. It feels odd, and Eren’s about to probe around more, but his attention is grabbed by a light touch by his forearm.

Levi’s saying something to him, and Eren finds himself captivated by the moment of his lips, leaning forward instinctively. It’s tiny moments like these when he questions if he’s dreamt all this up – that maybe this fantasy of him dating his hot dentist will pop like a soap bubble any minute now. But it doesn’t as he continues staring at Levi’s lips and Levi continues staring at him.

“Hey. Eren.” Levi shakes Eren slightly. “Are you awake or not?”

“Hello,” Eren says. The word tastes awkward in his numbed mouth as he attempts to keep his tongue out of the empty spaces. “Did everything go okay?”

Though Levi’s reaching for the gauze, he keeps one hand on Eren to make sure he doesn’t topple over in his half-awake state. “Everything went fine, just like I told you it would. Open your mouth.”

There are so many witty comebacks Eren could think up, but he doesn’t have time to actually voice any of them because his mouth is already open and Levi’s placing gauze pads in the empty sockets to soak up the bleeding. They’ve been together for six months, and Eren still hasn’t gotten sick of making jokes about oral action, much to Levi’s dismay. Now that Eren is no longer plagued by cavities and his previously unrequited affection towards his dentist, he can see why Jean had been so amused.

“Bite down,” Levi tells him, and from his expression Eren gathers that he’s repeated himself at least three times. It’s not his fault he’s not paying attention, he wants to exclaim. The anesthesia is still clouding his mind, along with the fact that being around Levi tends to have a distracting effect on him, even after six months.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Eren remarks through his mouth full of gauze, words slightly muffled.

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Levi says. “Just wait while it wears off, you’re going to be a wreck. Also, stop touching it.” Eren drops his hand down on his lap while he watches Levi return to his desk and shrug his lab coat off. He’d specifically scheduled Eren’s appointment after his usual working hours since he was no ordinary patient – on top of that, Levi had insisted that it would be preposterous to charge his own boyfriend for getting his wisdom teeth removed. That had been the first time he’d said the b-word out loud and Eren had gotten too emotional to argue, so here they were.

With heavy legs, Eren holds on to the chair and staggers up. He nearly trips over his own feet, but luckily Levi appears by his side and grabs him by the arm to keep him balanced.

“Going somewhere?” he questions as he takes in Eren’s slouched posture and the glassy look in his eyes.

Eren throws his head back and laughs, or at least he tries to, nearly choking on the gauze he’d forgotten all about. Levi’s brows knit together in concern but he fights off the smile, quite poorly in Eren’s opinion. He’s studied Levi’s face extensively and by now he can tell what each tiny change in his facial expression means.

Once there’s fresh gauze in place, Eren speaks up again. “Dude, what are you going to do, carry me?” he jokes. “I can walk on my own.”

Levi’s eyes narrow. “Don’t ‘dude’ me,” he warns, but the words lack any real malice. “And maybe I will, since you can’t seem to stand up without falling over.”

“I can stand just fine, give me a moment.” Eren grasps Levi’s arm and takes a slow step forward. The floor feels unsteady under his feet and he sways towards Levi, prompting him to wrap an arm around his waist.

“You were saying?” his boyfriend asks, and gosh, _his boyfriend_. His boyfriend Levi. That has a really nice ring to it.

“I like you,” Eren slurs as he winds an arm around Levi’s neck and buries his nose in his hair.

He can’t see Levi’s smile from his current position, which is a shame, but his voice has taken on that certain softness only reserved for Eren. “You tell me that several times a day. Believe me, I know.” There’s a clink as Levi fishes his car keys out of his pocket. “We’re going to my place for the night, as promised. You good to go?”

Eren gives a half-hearted mumble, too enamored by the scent of Levi’s shampoo to form words. His eyelids fall closed and he wants to go back to sleep right there and then, but Levi’s helping him walk out of the office and jostling him out of his daydreams. After a jab at his side, he complies and shuffles his feet across the floor in time with Levi’s.

They make it outside and into Levi’s car with no problem, even though Eren gets so mesmerized studying the cracks in the asphalt beneath his feet that Levi has to practically drag him along at times. He stifles a yawn as he plops down next to the driver’s seat. It’s warm inside, and Eren debates going back to sleep, but he knows the drive to Levi’s apartment lasts only ten minutes at most.

While he reaches out groggily to switch on the radio, Levi’s already backing the car out of the parking lot. “We’re going to stop by at the store,” he tells Eren, “do you need something?”

“You’re the dentist,” Eren says. “What can I eat?”

“Smoothies, yogurt, soup,” Levi lists. Eren leans his head on the soft leather upholstery and turns to glance at him. “Other liquid things.”

“Ice cream?” he asks, eyes lighting up.

Levi rolls his eyes, but there’s fondness in the way his lips twitch up into the faintest of smiles. “Ice cream as well,” he says.

“Great,” Eren says. Looking at the road and the buildings pass by makes his head spin, so instead he takes in Levi’s presence, his arms relaxed as those slim fingers Eren’s obsessed so much over drum against the steering wheel. They’re in the middle of one of the harshest winters Eren remembers, so naturally Levi’s wearing a coat along with warm gloves, but Eren is intimately familiar with each bend and arch of his toned arms, and as his eyes slowly trace from Levi’s shoulder to the tips of his fingers, he can easily imagine what the skin underneath looks like – he’s seen it bared many times, after all.

“Are you done eye-fucking me? I sort of need to leave the car to get you your ice cream.”

“I’m never going to be done,” Eren says with a laugh. If he weren’t still so sleepy, he might have blushed at having been caught staring, but now he can’t bring himself to care. “Cookie dough. Don’t be long, gorgeous.” With an expectant look, he puckers up his lips, receiving an agitated look.

“No way, that’s really unhygienic. There are literally two huge holes in your mouth.” Instead of kissing him on the mouth, Levi brushes his lips against Eren’s cheek. “Switch out the gauze if it soaks through, there’s more in the glove box,” he murmurs on his skin, and though it may just be one of the least romantic things anyone has ever said to Eren, it still causes a shudder to run through him. Levi’s so close to him and actually touching him out of his own free will, and Eren is once again overwhelmed by the fact that Levi is his boyfriend, _holy shit._

“Miss you already,” he mouths as he watches Levi make his way across the parking lot and into the convenience store. Now that the car is stationary and the scenery no longer blurs past him, he can at last look outside at the falling snow and the streetlights that illuminate the darkening neighborhood.

He must have dozed off at some point, because the next thing he registers is the car door opening and Levi tossing the groceries in the back seat before climbing in the driver’s seat. Eren blinks away the traces of sleep and leans over to grab him by his sleeve.

“You’re back,” Eren croaks, and only now notices that the gauze pads are bundled up between his gums and cheek, completely useless in stopping any bleeding. Levi sees this as well and frowns.

“Open,” he commands, shrugging off Eren’s hand and moving to grip his jaw.

“I thought we were done playing doctor for today,” Eren says, trying to go for a seductive tone, but Levi appears more concerned than seduced as he plucks out the gauze pads and puts in new ones.

“Don’t fall asleep with these in your mouth, you could choke to death,” he admonishes Eren, who only jitters in delight at the feeling of Levi’s fingers on his chin.

“Did you get ice cream?” he asks and cranes his head to the side in a silent request for more gentle touches.

“Yeah,” Levi responds as he strokes along the side of Eren’s face. “Cookie dough, two pints.”

“Aww, you’re too good for me, babe,” Eren says, and though he knows Levi won’t kiss him on the mouth, he goes for it anyway. The attempt ends with him licking a wet stripe down Levi’s cheek and then slumping against him.

“You’re so weird,” Levi sighs and gently pushes Eren towards his seat and Eren can’t help but notice that his hold on Eren’s shoulder lingers longer than necessary. Out of nowhere, he’s reminded of lying in the dentist’s chair with Levi’s hand on his shoulder, keeping his anxiety at bay. It’s strange to think how far they’ve come since then.

“Are you staying awake?” Levi’s voice calls out, and Eren reluctantly cracks his eyes open. His head has fallen against the window, the lights outside blending into a cloud of white and yellow as he turns to look at Levi.

“Kind of,” he replies, yawning. “What time is it, again?”

“Almost half past five,” Levi says. “You should eat something first, but then you can just sleep if you’d like.”

“Hmm, sounds good,” Eren says. Due to having chosen anesthesia instead of laughing gas, he’d had to go without food six hours prior to the operation, so by now he was starving.

They pull in at Levi’s apartment and Eren makes a big show of getting out of the car by himself, but when they walk up to the steps, he holds on to Levi, partially for support and partially just because.

Eren has been in Levi’s apartment countless times before, so he makes himself at home and flops down on the large couch while Levi heads to the kitchen. There’s a neatly folded blanket on the armrest that he wraps around himself and burrows deeper into the comforting warmth. He could go to sleep there and then, he thinks, surrounded by the familiar sights and sounds of Levi’s apartment – the dark wooden ceiling above him, the soft cushions under him and the sound of his boyfriend humming in the kitchen as he puts away the groceries.

The humming draws closer and soon Levi’s peeking over the back of the couch. “Open your mouth,” he tells Eren again, and he complies, allowing Levi to examine the spaces where his wisdom teeth used to be. “They’re looking much better.” He takes out the gauze and snakes an arm around Eren in an effort to prop him up. “I’m making you tomato soup, so don’t fall asleep yet.”

“You’re the best,” Eren says as he crawls his way up. “Seriously, how did I get so lucky?”

“Once again, this is something you tell me nearly every single day,” Levi says and presses his lips on Eren’s forehead. “Come into the kitchen and have some water to drink so we can see how your mouth handles it.”

Eren stumbles into the kitchen behind him, and even retrieves himself a glass before Levi’s shooing him to sit down at the table, taking the glass from him and filling it with water.

“You’re such a mother hen,” Eren tells him when he hands the water to him. Levi glances at him with disapproval written all over his face.

“I’m not,” he insists. “I’m just looking after you, since goodness knows you can’t do it for yourself when you’re still drugged up.”

“It’s cute, though,” Eren says. “I like it.”

“Whatever you say,” Levi replies as he turns his back to Eren. “Are you drinking? Does it hurt?”

He is now that Levi’s reminded him, taking a careful sip. He flinches when the water slides past the empty holes and then down his throat. It’s an odd sensation, and as he grazes his tongue over the holes, he feels a small twinge of discomfort – not quite pain yet, but he’s willing to bet that once the rest of the local anesthesia wears off it’ll only intensify.

“It’s still pretty numb,” Eren replies, idly watching Levi twiddle with the stove. When he moves aside to take out a cutting board and a knife, Eren’s confused for a moment but soon his face lights up.

“Wait, are you actually making me soup from scratch instead of pouring it out of a can?” he asks with a stupid grin.

Levi glances at him over his shoulder as be begins cutting up the tomatoes. “Of course,” he says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Do you know how much sugar and preservatives that canned stuff has?”

There’s a curious thrumming that rises up somewhere around Eren’s chest and he has to blink away the tiny bit of moisture from the corner of his eye. Levi’s making him food, how sweet is that? _His boyfriend_ is making him food.

“I can’t even with you,” Eren laughs and makes grabby hands in Levi’s general direction. “Come here. Kiss. My mouth’s not full of gauze anymore.”

Levi sets down the knife and turns halfway to Eren. Under the dim kitchen lights, Eren thinks he can see a faint blush on his cheeks. “It’s not even about that,” he begins. “Any excessive suction and probing around can slow the healing and make them bleed again.”

“Shut up, you perfect nerd,” Eren says, and now he’s certain that Levi’s blushing. “You, me, kiss. Get over here.”

Levi rolls his eyes but strides by the table nonetheless. “You’re so demanding,” he complains, sounding fond. “No tongue. I’m serious.”

“Yeah, sure,” Eren murmurs as he winds his arms around Levi’s neck, grabbing him by the back of his hair in an attempt to close the distance between them. Levi complies and leans in, sealing their lips together in a chaste kiss. With his hands still grappling on to silky black hair, he makes a happy little sound as he pushes forward to get closer and deeper and simply _more._

To his disappointment, Levi draws back with a huff, ignoring Eren’s protests. “I told you, no tongue,” he reminds, a little breathless as he disentangles himself from Eren’s grip.

“You’re no fun,” Eren grumbles and rests his head in his hands.

“What about getting a gum infection after sucking face too much and too soon, would that be fun?” Levi goes back to cooking and Eren gazes along the line of his back.

“You’d take care of me in that case as well,” he replies in a light tone.

It takes awhile for the soup to cook, and they exchange relaxed banter while it simmers on the stove. Now that it’s been several hours since the procedure, Eren can feel pain shoot through him when his tongue sweeps over the empty sockets, so he tries his best to talk with the front of his mouth. It would be ideal to not talk at all, of course, or at least not as quickly as Eren normally does, but the scent of spices and tomato along with the comforting presence of the man he loves makes him even more loose-lipped than usual.

In addition to soup, Levi makes himself a grilled cheese sandwich and sits down to eat. “Eat slowly,” he tells Eren as he places the bowl in front of him. “And wait for it to cool a bit, hot food can make it bleed again.”

“Yeah, sure thing,” Eren agrees as he grabs the spoon and stirs the soup with careful motions. “It looks delicious,” he remarks, and he really should have ended his sentence there, but he’s so smitten that of course he’s going to blurt out whatever crosses his mind. “I want you to cook for me every day.”

He freezes in place, the spoon clinking against the edge of the bowl as he loses his grip on it. If Levi’s put off, he at least has the decency to not show it – instead he gives a sort of a half-smirk, reaching over to dip the edge of his sandwich into Eren’s soup.

“Just keep being you and maybe I will,” he replies with a shrug before biting off a piece. There’s a tiny smudge of soup on his thumb and as his tongue flicks out to lick it off, Eren wants to reach across the table and do all sorts of indecent things to his mouth and his fingers and to all other parts of him, too.

“You’re doing that eye-fucking thing again,” Levi says, jolting him out of his fantasies. His lips are still only a fraction away from his thumb and Eren swears he’s doing it on purpose.

“That won’t be the only kind of fucking going on tonight,” he croons and tries to wiggle his brows as expertly as a certain blond friend of his, but judging by Levi’s expression, his eyebrow magic isn’t working.

“You’re drugged up and dead on your feet, not to mention that your mouth is very vulnerable to infection.” He nudges Eren’s bowl forward. “Now eat.”

The soup is rich and creamy and it makes Eren want to confess his undying love to Levi for what must be the fifth time that afternoon. Though Levi’s urging him to go slow and let the soup cool, it tastes so good that Eren has to force himself to take breaks in between spoonfuls. Apart from the faint sting and unfamiliar sensation of emptiness where his wisdom teeth once were, his mouth doesn’t feel any worse after he’s gulped down all of the warm soup. Levi demands to take a look at his teeth. After surmising that everything’s looking good, he tosses Eren his cookie dough ice cream and only complains a little when Eren insists on eating it on the couch.

Half a pint and a painkiller later, the dull ache at the back of his mouth is subsiding. He doesn’t know how much of it can be attributed to the ice cream or the medication, or maybe even the fact that he’s wormed himself into Levi’s lap. He’s lying down with his head resting on Levi's thighs while he flicks through the TV channels. His hand is carding through Eren’s hair and occasionally rubbing small circles into his temples in a way that reduces Eren to a limp mess.

“You never did tell me that joke,” he states, his words partially muffled by the warm wool of Levi’s sweater.

Levi stops flipping through the channels to glance down at him. “What joke?”

“Way back when we first met and a little after I punched you in the face,” he says, twisting his head up to look at Levi. “You said you’d tell me a joke afterwards.”

“Oh, that.” Levi falls silent, but soon speaks up again after catching Eren’s insistent stare. “Do you want me to tell you one now?”

He stretches out his arms and squirms around a little, attention flitting between Levi’s face and the TV screen that’s playing sitcom reruns. “Yeah, why not.”

“Okay, okay, let me think.” There’s a long silence during which Levi stops his motions and the hand disappears from Eren’s hair, caught somewhere in between. This makes him frown and nudge his head on Levi’s hip, and though it does nothing at first, he repeats the nudge and throws in an annoyed exhale for good measure. Levi’s fingers return to playing his hair at that and he relaxes back into his lap again as he waits for what will surely be a quality joke.

He watches as Levi gives an absent smile, suddenly looking all too satisfied with himself. “Okay, I got one. What does the dentist do on a rollercoaster?” He pauses, and Eren shakes his head. “He braces himself.”

“That was so awful.” Eren groans, covering his face with his hands. “Why did I even ask?”

“You love it,” Levi retorts, and Eren really does. Not the joke, the joke was horrible, but he loves Levi’s face when he smiles or frowns or does anything with it. He’s about to tell Levi this in great detail until a huge yawn escapes him. It’s so warm, and maybe he ends up falling asleep on top of Levi and drooling on his jeans until he wakes him up later in the evening and drags him off to bed.

“The couch is bad for your spine,” Levi whispers as he rests his head on Eren’s chest and listens to his steady heartbeat.

“I thought you didn’t do body parts other than teeth,” Eren quips back, barely awake. Maybe Levi throws some remark about doing all of Eren’s body, and maybe Eren continues drooling on Levi’s pillowcase after he dozes off, but it’s alright because they have the whole weekend to themselves and there’s no-one Eren would rather have taking care of both his teeth and other parts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yoo, this was a fill for the snk kink meme and my first ever fic in this fandom, thank you so much for reading it! 
> 
> if you want to come and say hi to me on tumblr, you can find me at http://crying-abt-fictional-people.tumblr.com/


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